District Court Strikes Down Gun Ban on Army Corps Lands

In a January 10th ruling, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho struck down a ban on the possession “of a firearm and other arms” on Army Corps of Engineers-controlled land.

A suit for a preliminary injunction against the ban was brought by Elizabeth E. Morris and Alan C. Baker.

In announcing the ruling, the court cited the District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) decision, indicating that in that case the Supreme Court described “the right of a law-abiding individual to possess a handgun in home for self-defense” as a “core right.”

The District Court for the District of Idaho said the “same analysis” that applies to this “core right” in the home applies to this “core right” in a tent too: “While often temporary, a tent is more importantly a place – just like a home – where a person withdraws from public view, and seeks privacy and security for himself and perhaps also for his family and/or his property.”

The Court granted the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction: “The Corps is enjoined from enforcing [the ban] as to law-abiding individuals possessing functioning firearms on Corps-administered public lands for the purpose of self-defense.”